Unorganized Thoughts
by Ann Author
Summary: A set of random, unrelated drabbles. Chapter 2: Jolliest Roger - He had swung her around in his arms telling her she made him happier than anything else, then she smiled and kissed him even though she knew it was a lie.
1. Tatto

Title: Tattoo

Characters: Vivi-centric, Pell

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Do we really still need these? Nonetheless, I don't own One Piece, Oda does.

Summary: They may never come her way again, but that's fine, because their marks have already been made, both in her heart and on now her skin. And she will never, ever forget.

* * *

Pell is standing over her, with a face full of worry, crouching slightly because his head will break through the ceiling if he doesn't. The room is dank and dingy, a secluded little store in one of the rougher areas left after the rebellion, all manner of maps and tools and knick-knacks covering the walls. She sits on the red leather medical chair smack in the middle, dressed in her boyish civilian clothes and feeling that same pre-adventure rush bubble in the back of her brain.

"Are you really sure about this, Vivi-sama? For a princess this kind of thing is..." Pell says. Being a noble warrior of the kingdom and all, he's clearly opposed to the whole ordeal. There's certainly merit to his words- for a princess of their culture something like this is downright unacceptable. However the fact that she and the kingdom in its entirety have done many unacceptable things as of late so _this should be fine and no papa won't mind_, is her slipshod reasoning every time he objects. But questionable as it is, it gets Pell to let her come this far so it's more than enough.

"I don't care," Vivi says, uncharacteristically forceful, "I'm going to do this." And those are all the words she speaks, since she knows that no matter how well the falcon knows her or how well she might explain he can't possibly understand. It's not a want at this point, but a need. A need to have a reminder, something solid to hold on to so that even when she's old and gray and even if they've never come back once she'll know that every single second of it was _real_.

"Hey, hey now!" the artist says around the lit cigarette in her teeth. "I won't have you arguing in my shop again! Vivi-sama, I apologize, but if you aren't sure right this second I'll have to ask you to leave."

"We-"

"_**I**_ am sure, Alonis-san." The girl says, cutting Pell of before he can begin speaking properly. "I'm going to do this." There's steel in her eyes that, to Pell, is very unfamiliar, yet for some reason incredibly fitting. It's the gaze of a warrior, fierce and determined, and it pains him to think of what it might have taken to place such an expression on his princess' face. His protests end then and there. Against that look in her eyes it is his loss all the way.

"Roll your sleeve up then please, My Lady." The smoking woman says as she prepares a brand new cartridge of pitch black ink. Vivi feels a damp cloth swipe over the skin of her upper left forearm, disinfecting the area with cool alcohol.

"No," she says, shaking her head, "I'm not a princess right now, only Vivi, Alonis-san." Just for today the girl doesn't want to be royalty, she wants to be herself with no titles or filters, the way they had always seen her as.

"All right then. Since it's just your arm it shouldn't hurt too much, but all the same there'll be a sting." Alonis says, smiling kindly, the needle already buzzing in her hand.

"Try not to flinch because it might ruin the design, simple as it is. Ready, Vivi-chan?"

A nod later and the point is humming against here pale skin, leaving dark marks in its wake. The sound takes her back to a ship with a sheep figure head, and the crazy crew of pirates that sailed on it. The girl closes her eyes and hears a new hum, the one of the sea and all it's endless waves, a chorus loud and off key voices singing old sea shanties in the background. As the needle travels over her skin she travels back in time. First to Yuba and it's dirt houses, then the hot desert, then the dead green city, and then the fragrant ports of Nanohana. The instrument continues its journey and Vivi relives her own. She sees a snowy country full of unparalleled doctors and and monstrous rabbits, an ancient island of dueling giants and dinosaurs, a land of bounty hunters and enormous cacti, the stomach of a giant whale and finally the deck of the Going Merry in all its damaged glory, its crew laughing and dancing as if it was their last day on the Earth.

"All done, Vivi-chan." Alonis says, snapping her out of her stupor. "I'll go grab some bandages, make sure not to touch it." The woman tosses her a smile as she exits the room, leaving her and Pell alone.

"Vivi-sama," he says hesitantly, "may I ask, what exactly is the meaning of all this?" She wants to narrate the whole thing like a novel, to go over every specific moment and intricate detail. She envisions Luffy-san's smile and Zoro-san's serious face, Sanji-san's calls of mellorine and Ussop-san's outrageous stories, Nami-san's devious smirk and Tony-kun's bashful dance.

_We're your nakama! _

In her mind plays their ridiculous antics despite being in the middle of battle against giant monsters or the hordes of Navy soldiers. Their endless laughter that screamed to "we are free", even when everyone in the world seemed to be hunting them down, rings true in her ears.

_Try risking our lives with yours! _

She recalls the warmth that crept up when she was called to dinner or when Ussop-san pulled her into their games or when Luffy-san screamed that she was one of them. She feels the shadow of the tears that ran down her face when they raised their arms to her, silently declaring their answer. A storm of emotion hits her. There is pain and freedom and sorrow and the most joy she has ever felt in her life all at once.

_Oh, so it turns out you do cry. _

There are so many words, so many phrases she could use and even then Vivi knows that her vastly extensive vocabulary will never be able to do the story justice.

_If we ever meet again,_ _will you still call me your friend?! _

"It's proof." She says, staring lovingly at the thick black X now permanently drawn on her forearm.

_This mark proves that we're nakama! _

"I don't understand what you mean, Vivi-sama..." Pell says finally, puzzled and worried.

"That's fine," she says to back him, her smile at that moment bright enough to light cities, "because I will never, ever forget."


	2. Jolliest Roger

Title: Jolliest Roger

Characters: Rouge, Roger

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Still don't own One Piece.

Summary: He had swung her around in his arms telling her she made him happier than anything else, then she smiled and kissed him even though she knew it was a lie.

* * *

Sunlight streams in through the thin curtains, swathing the room in a pink tinged glow. Roger's hands are running through her hair, and he's making some grandiose comment about how her locks are beautiful like an ocean of pink waves. Rouge laughs, and in return she likens his grin to the smile of a God. Out on the seas he might be a dangerous wanted man, but within the confines of their little wooden hut he is all bubbles and sunshine and gratuitous declarations of love. Not that either of the two minds, it suits them both terribly well.

"Oh!" Roger exclaims comically, the sure fire sign that he was about to enter another one of his woeful lamenting speeches. "If only I could take this whole hut with me! Oh the woe!" He clutches her hand and stares deep into her eyes like boys did in every romance novel. "It will be a painful time parting with you my love, for I will miss you with my every breath! Ah, my beautiful godes-"

"Bahahaha!" She laughs, rubbing her eyes that had begun to sparkle with tears. He was just so hard to take seriously some times.

"Oh come on, Rouge!" Her lover says, pouting like a seven year old. "And here I was trying to give you a powerful declaration of love! I really tried to put my heart into that, dang it!" She just continues to laugh, and he continues to stare sullenly till her shoulders cease to shake and she's had her fill of giggles. For a while after they just sit, her in his lap on the worn down sofa, basking in the other's presence. When the silence finally does break, however, it's not nearly as cheery as it before.

"Roger..." She says hesitantly, her fingers moving to fiddle with the cuff of his sleeve. "You're leaving tomorrow... Right?"

"Yeah," he says, his voice quieter and holding much less bravado, "we've finally found the doctor we need. The crew's had a nice little break, but it's time to head back. To the sea, the Grand Line." He's gauging her expression, looking for faults or frowns but he finds only her soft smile.

"I know, you do what you have to do." Rouge says, understanding. "I would never try to stop you, this is your dream." Her eyes are soft like her voice, and if Roger had known her any less he'd think she is totally fine. But she isn't. She wants him to stay but she knows that he won't because there's one thing out there he will always love more that her. The hesitant way her hands grip his wrist tells him all he needs to know.

"I'll come back." He says, his eyes bright with promise. "We'll sail to the end of the Earth and see all there is to see. Then I'll be back with tons of gifts and stories and I'll never leave your side, I swear it!" One hand holds her head and the other moves round her waist, and he presses her so close she feels his heart beating against her own. It's almost enough to make her believe what he's saying but she can't. Rouge has heard the stories about maidens abandoned, left staring woefully into the sea, longing for a man who was never coming back. She's even met such women herself- old and bitter and lonely, lives stunted by the endless years of waiting- and Rouge is deathly afraid of becoming one of them.

"Five years," she tells him finally, "I'll wait five years from today and no more." It's more than Rouge thinks she can give. Yet she can't bring herself to tell him she doesn't want to wait, especially since he's got a love out there that little old her has nothing on, but the look in his eyes just makes her so weak.

"I'll only need three, maybe four years tops!" He says determinedly. "Don't you fret, Rouge, I'll come back, and I'll be even more dashing when I do if it's possible!" He heaves them both up, dancing round the house to a made up song.

"Oh really?" Rouge asks as he swings her round, carrying her all over the hut. Her smile is luminous even though her heart is breaking.

"For sure." He says, planting a quick kiss at her temple. "After all I'm the jolliest Roger I can be when I'm with you!" And Rouge laughs at his stupid pun, even though she knows it's not the truth. When he whispers that he loves her more than anything she whispers it back, even though his words are lies when hers are not. The feel of their kiss, solemn and withdrawn, tells she everything she needs to know. His one love is always and forever the sea, with its endless mystery and beauty and potential adventure. How could a simple freckled girl from a simple southern island ever compete?

Roger sails off the next day, proclaiming his never ending love for the whole island to hear as he leaves, and Rouge doesn't expect him back.


End file.
